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Saturday, December 22, 2012

Trying to eat whole foods has the potential to drive me nuts

I try to follow the "100 Days of Whole Foods" challenge up to a point, as well as do lots of the things Michael Pollan suggested in his book, The Omnivore's Dilemma to eat more locally grown, naturally raised food.

As best I can, I buy foods with 5 ingredients or less. We do a weekly CSA program to get local produce. Ninety percent of the time I make muffins and biscuits from scratch. I've even gotten to the point where I purchase a cage-free chicken, cook it, remove the meat for meals and boil the bones to make my own stock for soups. I think it is helping my bottom line too, which is an added benefit.

Like any person with OCD, I have the great ability to obsess over things to an unhealthy degree. Sometimes I find myself in the throes of an obsessive episode in the grocery store aisles.

Today, for example, I wanted to purchase polenta and pesto for our supper. I got hung up on buying jarred pesto because it had more than 5 ingredients, and I know how to make pesto. I usually make it in the summer when I can get fresh basil. So I stood in the Italian food section for awhile debating whether I should buy it or make it. I started to walk to the produce area, thinking about getting the basil and the spinach and the pine nuts and getting a little worked up because that means more.to.do. I had to quickly talk myself down and just buy the damn jar.

When I see people in grocery stores chatting on their cell phones I wonder how they can possibly have a conversation when there are so many decisions that have to be made and so many ingredients to count and so many sugar grams to consider. And on top of all that there is the cost and the coupons.

1 comment:

I can relate to this post in different ways. I don't focus so much on the whole foods aspect (although I'm becoming more concerned with that). But I'm definitely a label-reader because of allergies, as you know. And like you said, throw in prices and fat/sugar/protein (I aim for higher amounts of the latter for my kids), and grocery shopping becomes an exercise in intense concentration.

About Me

I am a mom of three diagnosed with OCD and GAD during my 2004-2005 postpartum period, although I very likely have been dealing with both since about age 10. They didn't disorder my life enough to require meds and therapy until after I became a mom.